Purse and flap construction



1955 F. G. DOBBS ETAL PURSE AND FLAP CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 21, 1954 Nov. 15, 1955 F. G. DOBBS ETAL 2,

PURSE AND FLAP CONSTRUCTION Filed June 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS: FRANK emosss STEPHAN H. DOBBS,

THE/E 066W T51 United States Patent Office Patented Nov. 15, 1955 PURSE AND FLAP CONSTRUCTIGN Frank G. Dobbs and Stephan H. Dobbs, New York, N. Y. Application June 21, 1954, Serial No. 438,269

8 Claims. (Cl. 15042) The invention relates to purses, and relates more particularly to a purse construction which includes a flap that is removably fastened to the purse.

Reference is had to our copending design patent application filed May 3, 1954, Ser. No. D.-30,292, now Design Patent No. D-l73,477 issued November 16, 1954.

In the following, reference will be had to purses, but it will be understood that this term is not used in any limiting sense, and is intended to cover purses as well as handbags, bags, billfolds, wallets and similar articles.

Purses are customarily provided with flaps that carry fasteners such as snap fasteners for removably connecting some parts of the purse to other parts. These flaps usually are integral with the body of the purse. After prolonged use, the fiaps have the tendency to be severed from the body of the purse which results in the inability to make these parts adhere, for instance, to close the purse, with attendant inconvenience to the user.

It is among the principal objects of the invention to provide a purse construction in which a flap is removably fastened to the wall of a purse and in the fastened position is safe against accidental removal, but may be removed manually at will.

In its broadest aspects, the invention provides for a slotted wall, and fastening means to engage one end of the flap in the slot. Attaching means may be provided at the other end of the flap for a removable fastening to the wall of the purse. The ends of the flap may be so fastened to the purse wall that the flap will form a loop, and a clamp may be provided on the interior of the loop, to hold an object such as a lipstick adjacent the purse.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a purse and flap construction in accordance with the invention, showing the purse and the flap closed;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the purse partially opened and the flap partially detached and unfolded;

Fig. 3 is a large scale sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a large scale elevational view, partly in section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a purse 11 that has a body 12, integral foldable side sections 13 and 14, and integral top and bottom covers 16 and 17 The construc tion of the purse 11, illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, has been simplified, merely for the purpose of illustration and for the sake of clarity and simplicity, but without any intention to limit the scope. Thus, purses of this type may be provided with many compartments, with passes, and with many more flaps than shown in the drawing. Purses of the instant type may be made of plastic material, with the wall being formed of a single sheet of material or of two superposed sheets of material fused together at their contours, or of other suitable material such as leather, woven material, or the like.

A flap 18 is connected on the exterior to the body 12, and is placed on the outside of the cover 16 and carries at the free'end 19 a snap fastener member 21 for connection to a fastener member 22 that is attached to the bottom cover 17. The flap 18 is fastened to the wall of the body portion 12 by means of a releasable connection, generally indicated at 23, which will be explained in detail in connection with a second flap 24 that is mounted at one side of the purse 11.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the flap 24, like the flap 18, may be made of a two-wall thickness. It comprises an elongated body portion 26 that has an integral end portion 27, and oppositely thereto are integral terminal portion 28. A snap fastener element 29, similar to the member 21, is connected to the terminal portion 28. The releasable connection 23 is composed of the end portion 27 and a slot 37, as explained below. 7

Between the body portion 26 and the end portion 27 there is integrally formed on the flap 24 a connecting portion 31. This connecting portion 31 has a width a that is reduced as compared to the width b of the end portion 27. Two opposite recesses 32 and 33 are formed between the end portion 27, the body portion 26, and the connecting portion v31. The recesses 32 and 33 define on the end portion 27 two aligned oppositely disposed edges 34 and 36 respectively, and these edges 34 and 36 form an angle, for instance a right angle, with the longitudinal extension of the flap 24.

The slot 37 is formed in the body 12 of the purse 11. It has a length 0 that is comparable to, though slightly larger than, the width .a of the connecting portion 31.

The end portion 27 is flexible and as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, may be inserted through the slot 37. In that position, the edges 34 and 36 will bear against the edges of the slot 37, and thereby the flap 24 will be held against accidental removal on the body 12.

The flap 18 is similarly connected to the body 12, and includes an end portion 27 and recesses 32 and 33, and a slot 37 that is formed in the body 12.

The side section 14 of the purse 11 is foldable, as best shown in Fig. 3, for instance about a folding crest 38. The slot 37 is formed on one side of the crest 38, and opposite thereto, on the other side of the crest 38, there is disposed a snap fastener element 39 that cooperates with the element 29. The slot 37 is so spaced from the member 39, that upon engagement of the end portion 27 in the slot 37, and fastening of the element 29 to the element 39, the body 26 of the flap 24 will arch and form a loop, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 3.

There may be provideda clamping means such as a clamp 41 that is open on top and that is disposed on the interior of the loop. The clamp 41 serves to hold releasably an object such as a lipstick 42 (Figs. 1 and 2). As best shown in Fig. 1, the lipstick 42 will be accessible from the exterior even when the purse 11 is completely closed.

The advantage of the instant construction is that torn flaps may easily be replaced without any necessity for replacing the entire purse.

it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel principles of the invention disclosed herein in connection with a specific exemplification thereof will suggest various other modifications and applications of the same. It is accordingly desired that in construing the breadth of the appended claims they shall not be limited to the specific exemplification of the invention described herein.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a purse structure having a wall, in combination, a flap removably connected to said wall and comprising a body portion, an integral end portion, and an integral connecting portion of reduced width disposed between said body portion and said end portion, said wall forming a slot having a width comparable to said reduced width for removable insertion of said flap into said slot, said wall having a side section foldable thereover forming a 1 crest near said slot, said flap being flexible and forming a loop adjacent said crest, and fastening means between said flap and a portion of said section adjacent said crest oppositely relative to said slot.

2. In a purse construction as claimed in claim 1, together with, clamp means secured to said flap on the interior of the loop thereof and operable for removably holding clamped an object adjacent said crest.

3. A flap, for use in connection with a purse having a wall, said flap comprising opposite end portions and an elongated body portion therebetween, each end portion being operable to be removably connected to said wall at points spaced from each other for a distance smaller than the length of said body portion, whereby said flap will form a loop adjacent said purse, and clamp means connected to said body portion and disposed on the interior of said loop and operable for releasably clamping an object.

4. A flap according to claim 3, and means secured to said end portions and operable for removably fastening said end portions to said purse.

5. In a purse structure, in combination, a wall including a side section foldable thereover forming a crest, a flap connected to said wall and being flexible and forming a loop adjacent said crest, and fastening means between the free end of said flap and said section, said fastening means being so positioned on said flap and on said section that upon interengagement of said fastening means of said flap and of said section said flap throughout at least a portion thereof will be arched and spaced from the outer surface of said section.

6. In a purse structure, in combination, a wall including a side section foldable thereover, said wall and section defining an external surface, a flexible flap connected with one end to said wall and arranged to be removably connected with the other end to said section, and fastening means between said other end and said section and so arranged that upon fastening said fiap at least throughout a portion of its length will be arched and be spaced from said external surface.

7. In a purse structure as claimed in claim 6, together with, clamp means connected to said flap at the side thereof facing said external surface and operable for removably holding ciarnped an object adjacent said external surface.

8. A flap, for use in connection with a purse having a wall, said flap comprising opposite end portions and an elongated body portion therebetween, one of said end portions being connected to said wall at a first point thereof, the other end portion being operable to be removably connected to said wall at a second point, the distance between said points being smaller than the length of said portion, whereby said flap will form a loop adjacent said wall, and clamp means connected to said body portion and disposed on the interior of said loop and operable for releasably clamping an object.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 389,579 Langfeld Sept. 18, 1888 1,148,502 Cowlishaw Aug. 3, 1915 2,347,338 Sherwood Apr. 25, 1944 2,667,199 Knee Jan. 26, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 550,360 Great Britain Ian. 5, 1943 

